Chutes & Ladders—Horizon BCBSNJ names new CEO; Cerner names top exec

Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. Please submit the good news—or the bad—from your shop, and we will feature it here at the end of each week.


Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

Gary D. St. Hilaire
(Capital BlueCross)

Gary D. St. Hilaire was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. He was also named a member of the company’s Board of Directors starting April 6.

Kevin P. Conlin, the company’s current Chairman, President, and CEO, will become Executive Chairman of the Board.

St. Hilaire has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Capital Blue Cross—which serves 21 counties in Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley—since 2012. He first joined the company in 2005 as chief financial officer. Under his leadership, the company grew its membership, acquired and launched new subsidiaries and achieved the JD Power Award for “Best in Member Satisfaction Among Commercial Health Plans” in Pennsylvania.

He previously co-founded and served as chief financial officer of health care technology company Choicelinx Corp, served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and was vice president and corporate controller of a publicly-traded managed care organization. He began his career in 1986 with Deloitte & Touche.

St. Hilaire will be charged with the role of refining the Horizon's strategy, aligning its implementation across the company and will direct all aspects of the company’s operations, officials said. 


Lawrence General Hospital

Deborah Wilson
(Lawrence General)

Deborah J. Wilson was named president and CEO of Lawrence General Hospital in Massachusetts. 

Wilson has been at Lawrence General for nearly nine years in the role of senior vice president and chief financial officer before she was promoted to the executive vice president three years ago.

Since October, Wilson has served as interim CEO.


Cerner

Don Trigg
(Cerner)

Don Trigg was named president at EHR giant Cerner.

Trigg, who joined Cerner in 2002, previously served as executive vice president of strategic growth.

In his new role, Trigg will lead the health IT company's work with Amazon Web Services to modernize its platform and to develop a cloud-based cognitive platform for healthcare.

Trigg will also be responsible for clinical electronic health record (EHR), revenue cycle management and strategic growth businesses, which include real-time health systems, health networks, data-as-a-service, long-term and post-acute care, consumer and employer.

Cerner also announced it expanded John Peterzalek's role to executive vice president and chief client and services officer, and he will oversee Cerner’s services, consulting, support and hosting businesses. 



J. Arthur Dosher Memorial Hospital (Dosher)

Tom Siemers, the CEO of the J.Arthur Memorial Hospital in Southport, North Carolina, will step down from his role at the end of February.

Siemers joined the hospital in 2012. Under Siemers leadership, the hospital received a five-star patient experience rating from the federal government, constructed a new $11 million inpatient unit, upgraded equipment and added new technology, built Dosher Wellness Center, started Dosher Primary Care Network, and recruited multiple physicians, officials said.

They did not give a reason for his departure. Interim leadership has not yet been announced.


LifeOmic, which has LIFE mobile apps and the Precision Health Cloud (PHC) platform in use at major medical and cancer centers, announced Ed Simcox—former CTO of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—as its new chief strategy officer. 

SOPHiA GENETICS elected of the former CEO of Foundation Medicine (Roche) Troy Cox to its Board of Directors.

> Current Health,  which offers FDA-cleared, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered remote patient management platform, appointed healthcare industry veteran Todd Rothenhaus to its Board of Directors.